I think I might have shorted out my starter

Jeff N

Jeff N

Your Mileage May Vary
So I was tightening up a spark plug and my ratchet slipped, dropped and there was a short burst of sparks when it hit the starter. Now when I try to start the car, all I get is a solenoid click. This was just injury to insult, since I had to tow the X home after it wouldn't start, apparently with a(nother) carb issue. :mad:

Any ideas to check before I have to go through the gymnastics of pulling the starter?
 
Any chance the wrench knocked the small wire off?

Just a thought. There is a small wire with a spade clip down there, check it. Although I think that is probably the wire hooked to the solenoid, so it might not even click if that small wire is actually detached.

Other than that, check to see if you have enough juice in the battery to crank the engine. Did you try to jump start it yet?

Also, you can give the starter a firm tap with a hammer to see if it is stuck. Give it a tap, then try to start. Try it a couple times. I tapped the starter on my 78 occasionally for almost year, then I finally decided it was dead when tapping no longer convinced it to spin.

Oh... and always disconnect the battery when you work in the engine bay. Geez, I would never make a mistake like that. At least not with a starter. ;) (Did you know alternators make a really nice spray of parks when you drop a wrench on them?)
 
Starter problems

Sounds like the lead to the starter from the solenoid has burned off.

Remove the starter and take the solenoid off, it should then be apparent where the problem is.

TonyK

Grimsby Ontario, Canada.
 
OUCH! Sorry for your trouble... but your starter is...

... probably OK.

When the wrench "shorted" the terminals... it shorted AROUND the starter, and not THROUGH the starter. I would suspect some damage externally though. In any case, you really should drop it and check it out. Here's what I find to be the EASIEST way...

1. Disconnect NEG battery cable at the chassis.

2. Loosen the three starter bolts from the TOP. Remove any air cleaners or fans that may be in the way. Wire-wheel the bolts and lube.

3. Jack car from center point on trans crossmember using a floor jack. Place stands for safety.

4. Reach up between the radiator hose and pan... grab the starter, pull to the right and down, and BIRTH it from between the radiator hose and pan... collapsing the hose for clearance.

5. Let it hang... then unbolt battery cable and alternator lead, un clip the other two from the ignition and the voltmeter.

6. Inspect for damage and repair same...

7. Bench test starter in front trunk using jumper cables BEFORE you reinstall it. Be sure you test THROUGH the solenoid also. As Jim said, the starter could have gotten jammed up... tapping it and ensuring the drive engages and releases manually is a good idea too.

8. Still in trouble? Test battery for 12.6 volts or better... Have you done the BWM mod? Give me a call if ya want... and I'll do what I can... 661-296-7277, 9 - 9 PLEASE!

Hope this helps...
 
Thanks for the suggestions. This car is at the stage in the rehab now where things that are worn out are starting to show up as the car is starting to get driven more. It's a real pain when something totally unneccesary like this happens to put me a few squares back. Gotta carve out the time now to crawl under it and get the starter going, THEN get back to finding out why it suddenly doesn't want to fire up.
 
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